Baby Found Covered In Cockroaches, Crawling Across Busy Street

PELICAN BAY (CBSDFW.COM) — A 19-month-old baby was found in Pelican Bay on Monday, covered in cockroaches and feces and crawling across a busy street.

Pelican Bay Assistant Chief of Police Stephen Combs says a resident was driving northbound in the 1400 block of Sheri Lane on Monday at 3 p.m. when she spotted something.

“She spotted something in the roadway,” said Combs. “The closer she got to the object, she realized it was a 19-month-old baby crawling in the middle of the road.”

The woman stopped, picked up the child, and immediately took him to the police station.

“The baby, when he was brought to the police station, had live cockroaches coming out of his diapers and crawling on his body,” said Combs. “The people that brought him into the police department had to clean out their car because of the live and dead cockroaches. He had feces on his face; he was extremely dirty. It was a pathetic sight.”

Around 3:30 pm, the baby’s mother, identified as 23-year-old Tiffany Jenkins, walked into the station and asked if anyone had found her baby.

After an investigation, authorities determined that Jenkins was in the yard with her four children, and apparently forgot about the 19-month-old.

“When one of them hurt her foot, Miss Jenkins took the other kids into the house but somehow overlooked the 19-month-old baby,” said Combs. “While inside, the baby managed to somehow get out of the yard and crawl down the street. The baby was found some 250 feet away from the home.”

Jenkins has been arrested and charged with Endangering a child, a second degree felony. Her husband, who also lives at the residence, was at work at the time of the incident and is not facing charges.

Child Protective Services removed the other three children — ages 9 weeks, 3 years, and 5 years — from the home and has placed them with grandparents.

Agents with CPS were forced to shake cockroaches and maggots off their clothing when leaving the residence, according to Combs.